Coolers are typically known by a number of different names depending on your age and location such as beverage cooler, ice box, ice chest, and cool box. Even though the names may vary, these devices primarily serve the same function by keeping one's food and drink cold by insulating the interior of the cooler from the external environment and elements.
Generally coolers are designed to be placed on the ground and accessed by an individual as desired. However, by placing the cooler on the ground, the cooler often collects dirt, dust, and debris which needs to be cleaned off. At times, coolers can have condensation form on their exterior surfaces. Now instead of cleaning dust, dirt, and other grime, one must clean wet grass, mud, and the like or risk soiling their clothes, automobile interior, or home. Some individuals combat this by placing a towel or similar absorbent device underneath the cooler. However, the towel then becomes saturated with condensation and grime and must be washed. Further, towels provide ample opportunity for insects and the like to hide and be brought into the home or automobile.
To combat this problem, in some instances, individuals have integrated extendable legs into a cooler in order to enable the cooler to be positioned above the ground. While this may solve at least one problem, it gives rise to a number of other issues. For example, the cooler's higher center of gravity make it easier to tip over and spill it contents or to cause injury to another. Further, the condensation from such coolers may pool and collect around the area underneath the cooler providing for slippery conditions or again necessitating the need for a towel or absorbent padding.
Additionally, there are a number of people for whom coolers are not easily accessed. For example, the elderly or people with physical ailments, especially of the back, often have a hard time bending over to pick up an object. Traditional coolers are sized and located as such that they often are situated at or below a person's knee. This requires some type of bending on the body in able to be in a position to access the cooler. This, in turn, often requires these people to rely on others to retrieve items from a cooler or have to go without the item sought.
Thus, there is a need for a cooler support apparatus that effectively and safely positions a cooler in an elevated position. Additionally, the cooler support should be able to provide support for at least one and preferably multiple coolers. Further, the cooler support apparatus should be able to prevent the buildup of condensation on the ground thereby leading to unsafe conditions for persons and animals alike. The present invention and its embodiments meet and exceed these objectives.
Review of Related Technology:
U.S. Pat. No. 7,451,709 pertains to a portable cooler and table assembly that may be easily transported in a single, self-contained unit. The assembly may be converted for use as a table for a variety of recreational activities, e.g., dining, drinking, games such as ping pong, beer pong, table hockey, card games, board games, preparation for sporting events and meals. The table and cooler may be permanently attached to each other, or alternatively, the cooler may be detachable from the table. The table may fold or collapse to assist in converting the assembly from a compact, lightweight transportable unit into a fully extended and operable table and cooler. The table surface may contain surface features such as grooves, indentations, nets, game pieces, etc. The cooler may comprise any container that is capable of containing ice or some other refrigeration or heating system, e.g., a conventional 54 quart beverage cooler. Alternatively, the cooler may be replaced with a storage container or other storage device. The assembly may also contain various wheels, legs and handles to assist in mobility and conversion.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,341,164 pertains to an ice chest that has retractable, telescoping legs extending at respective forward and rearward angles from each respective end wall of the ice chest. The ice chest has handles at the upper central portion of the ice chest end wall having push buttons therein which release the telescoping legs from a locked position and which fall to the open position under their own weight and lock in a secure position. The push buttons actuate the locks by a linkage system. The front legs have pads at their lower ends, protecting the ends of the legs, and providing weight to pull the legs into the open, locked position. The rear legs have wheels which also providing weight to pull the legs into the open, locked position. A similar water cooler has retractable legs which have pads on their lower ends pulling the legs downward upon pushing buttons on handles on the sidewalls.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,575 pertains to a system for receiving and supporting a child car seat comprising a dolly having a rectangular support plate with a rectangular opening of a size and shape to receive the lower surface of a child car seat, the support plate having interleaved webbing at the lower extent of the opening for providing support to a child car seat located thereabove; securement means in the form of a strap and buckle secured to the side edges of the support plate adapted to releasably couple a child car seat to the support plate; a plurality of legs, the legs arranged in two pair including a first pair of legs pivotally secured at their upper ends to the opposed edges of the support plate; the second pair of legs slidably secured at their upper ends to other opposed edges of the support plate, a slidable coupling including tubular sleeves pivotally coupled to the support plate with the upper ends of the second pair of legs slidably received therein, the second legs each comprising a release button for retaining the sleeve at the upper end of the second legs and the legs in an extended operative orientation, the buttons adapted to be depressed to allow the second pair of legs to slide within the sleeves for movement to a collapsed orientation.
U.S. Patent Application 2007/0260348 pertains to a combination portable table and carrier device for transporting and reading construction plans (e.g. blueprints). The device includes a table having a plan storage compartment for holding one or more sets of construction plans in a flat or folded position. The storage compartment is flush with the surface of the table thus enabling the construction plans to be written on without problems from the underlying surface. A lid is hinged to the storage compartment and the table thus providing access to the storage compartment when open and a smooth work surface for the table when closed. The lid also protects the contents of the storage compartment when it is closed. Binder clips at opposite ends of the portable secure the set of construction plans in place for viewing and modification. The binder clips holds the turned pages of the plans, thereby permitting individual pages of the plans to be easily viewed while the entire set of plans is secured in place and held open to the selected page.
Various devices are known in the art. However, their structure and means of operation are substantially different from the present disclosure. The other inventions fail to solve all the problems taught by the present disclosure. The present invention and its embodiments provide for supporting a beverage cooler in an elevated position with repositionable holding areas and an anchored base. Further, the present invention provides a simple and effective way to remove condensation, debris, and the like from the apparatus. At least one embodiment of this invention is presented in the drawings below and will be described in more detail herein.